Cover Art Courtesy of Big Machine Records
NASHVILLE, TN (November 20, 2021) – Nashville-based nonprofit CreatiVets and Big Machine Label Group’s campaign to release a new veteran-written track on the 20th of every month — paying tribute to the 20 veterans and active-duty members that commit suicide every single day — continues today (11/20) with the release of “Trigger,” available across all major streaming platforms now.
Arriving on “Survivors of Suicide Loss Day,” the stirring tune is the product of CreatiVets’ songwriting program, which pairs combat veterans with songwriters in Nashville to help them learn to use music as a form of therapy. Written by veteran Case Williams alongside CreatiVets founder Richard Casper and songwriter Erik Dylan, the moving track serves as a message of hope, drawing inspiration from Williams’ own mental health struggles as it proclaims, “Boy, you gotta hang on ‘cause life is so much bigger than what you’re gonna find if you pull that trigger.”
LISTEN TO “TRIGGER” HERE
“Going into my writing session, I already knew that I wanted to create a song around veteran suicide — something I’ve dealt with on a personal level,” explains Williams. “The second we started writing the song, it just flowed out, and I couldn’t be more proud of what we wrote. So many great things have come from this experience, and if this song can help save even one life, I would say it was a success.”
Reflecting on the profound nature of their writing session, Dylan adds, “This particular session was really different from what I normally get to be a part of. Lyrically, it was so much heavier and deeper, and just writing with Case really opened my eyes and my heart. My father-in-law committed suicide in 2006, so I was honored to have a small part in sharing Case’s story. I don’t know if God was trying to help him or me that day —I’d say both.”
Last Thursday (11/11), CreatiVets joined Carson Daly on NBC’s TODAY Show for a special Veterans Day segment, which included a moving conversation with the organization’s founder Richard Casper, as well as an inside peek into one of their lauded songwriting programs, chronicling a recent writing session with Marine Veteran Lloyd Howard Jr. alongside multi-platinum selling hitmaker Justin Moore and award-winning songwriter Casey Beathard backstage at the Grand Ole Opry. Watch the full interview here.
Since its founding in 2013, CreatiVets has helped more than 1,000 combat veterans — with more than 500 veterans participating in its songwriting programs to date. Serving as a connector for opportunities that magnify CreatiVets within the entertainment space, Big Machine Label Group continues to contribute to CreatiVets’ operational initiatives through Scott and Sandi Borchetta’s Music Has Value Fund and through Big Machine Music, which serves as the co-publisher for CreatiVets.
To learn more about CreatiVets, please visit creativets.org.
